Celebrity Manicurist Deborah Lippmann on Beauty, Aging, and the Product That Changed her Relationship With her Hands

Some of my earliest memories of beauty were about hands. I remember growing up in Arizona and noticing Barbra Streisand’s nails on TV, the graceful way she moved her hands when she sang. I loved the way Bette Midler used her hands, too—so feminine, so exquisite. From the beginning, I always found people who were not considered beauties to be beautiful. I think I was always attracted to people’s hearts. And hands were somehow an extension of that.

I’ve been performing as a singer since I was 5 years old, when I won a competition wearing a costume inspired by The Music Man that my grandmother made for me. I was in choirs and musicals all throughout school, and in college at Arizona State I was in the fine arts program, where I studied opera and also performed musical theater and jazz. But all this time, despite my obsession with hands—or maybe because of it—I was a severe nail-biter. Then, not long after graduation, I was cast in a revue called Razzle Dazzle, playing Carmen Miranda and Dolly Parton. At the final dress rehearsal, I was wearing a massive Dolly Parton wig, boobs made out of Styrofoam, and a miniature cowboy hat. The director took one look at me and said, “What’s going on with those hands?”

The next day he took me to have a full set of long artificial nails put on—and instantly, all of my shame went away. It transformed the way I performed and moved my body; it transformed the way I saw myself. I suddenly felt like a woman. It seems like such a small thing, but I realized that hands are in front of you or in your peripheral vision all day, and they’re incredibly important to the way a person feels about themselves. Years later, I discovered something else that helped transform the way my hands looked,—Restylane? Lyft, the first and only FDA-approved hyaluronic acid filler for the hands. It was a game changer for me. And I know through my years of experience as a manicurist—and later as a brand founder who’s been blessed to work with some of the most incredible hands in the world—that it’s been a game changer for many.

Your hands are your greeters. You look at somebody in the eye, and then you reach out and look at their hand. It’s such a telling thing about a person’s overall grooming. And I have always noticed that anybody who didn’t feel good about their hands would hide them. As you age, you start to notice the skin on the back of the hands thinning, the tendons and the veins becoming more visible. You’re constantly reminded that your hands are starting to age you. So many people are embarrassed by them. They’ll say, “Look at how crepey my skin is, look at my veins.” This is something I hear from almost every woman I’ve ever met, at every salon I’ve worked in. And I used to feel the same way. Before Restylane Lyft, I would look at my hands and go, Oh my gosh, I don’t feel old, but look at my hands—they’re telling me I’m old.

It’s possible now to look 20 years younger because of all the incredible skin-care products and dermatological treatments out there, which I’m a fan of and partake in. But hands give everything away. (For my celebrity clients, there’s even more pressure to be perfect—everything is visible on the red carpet thanks to close-ups and the Internet, and some actors will change the way they move while filming to avoid showing their hands.) But all of my clients, whether they’re famous or not, have been saying for years, “What can you do for my hands? You’ve got to do something!”

When Restylane Lyft became FDA-approved for volume loss in aging hands all I could think was: Thank you, thank you, thank you! I admit I was a little nervous to try it myself. I’ve had great results with Restylane for my facial wrinkles, but the skin on the back of my hands is thinner, and I’m afraid of pain. But there was no pain—I didn’t even know it was happening—and the results were instant, without any bruising. It looks so, so natural. It’s incredible. The fact is, it doesn’t look like you’ve “done something” and that was very important to me.

Discovering Restylane Lyft was a life-changing moment for me, in the same way as that first set of artificial nails I got was when I was playing Dolly Parton. Before, I had stopped wearing color on my nails because I didn’t want to draw attention to my aging hands, and now I’m having fun with polish again, even with dark colors—I’m really into a classic short, dark nail right now, which I never thought I’d wear again! My hands are a source of pride. I feel better about myself. And that’s empowering.

Important Safety Information

The Restylane family of products includes Restylane?, Restylane-L?, Restylane? Lyft with Lidocaine, Restylane? Silk, Restylane? Refyne, and Restylane? Defyne.

APPROVED USES

Restylane? and Restylane-L? are for mid-to-deep injection into the facial tissue for the correction of moderate to severe facial wrinkles and folds, such as nasolabial folds. Restylane? and Restylane-L? are also indicated for injection into the lips in patients over the age of 21.

Restylane? Lyft with Lidocaine is for deep implantation into the facial tissue for the correction of moderate to severe facial wrinkles and folds, such as nasolabial folds and for cheek augmentation and for the correction of age-related midface contour deficiencies in patients over the age of 21. Restylane? Lyft with Lidocaine is also indicated for injection into the subcutaneous plane in the dorsal hand to correct volume deficit in patients over the age of 21.

Restylane? Silk is for lip augmentation and for correction of perioral wrinkles in patients over the age of 21.

Restylane? Refyne is for mid-to-deep injection into the facial tissue for the correction of moderate to severe facial wrinkles and folds, such as nasolabial folds, in patients over the age of 21.

Restylane? Defyne is for mid-to-deep injection into the facial tissue for the correction of moderate to severe deep facial wrinkles and folds, such as nasolabial folds, in patients over the age of 21.

Are there any reasons why I should not use products within the Restylane? family? (Contraindications)

To ensure a safe procedure, your doctor will talk to you about your medical history to determine if you are an appropriate candidate for treatment. You should not use products within the Restylane family if:

You have severe allergies with a history of severe reactions (anaphylaxis)

You are allergic to lidocaine or to any of the gram-positive bacterial proteins used to make hyaluronic acid

You are prone to bleeding or have been diagnosed with a bleeding disorder

Are there other precautions that I should discuss with my doctor?

Tell your doctor if you are breastfeeding, pregnant, or trying to become pregnant. The safety of these products for use during pregnancy, or in women who are breastfeeding, has not been studied

Restylane, Restylane-L, Restylane? Lyft with Lidocaine, Restylane Refyne and Restylane Defyne are intended to treat facial wrinkles and folds, such as nasolabial folds. Restylane and Restylane-L are also intended for lip enhancement. Restylane? Lyft with Lidocaine is also intended for injection in the dorsal hand to correct volume loss. Treatments in other areas of the face or body have not been evaluated in clinical studies.

The safety and effectiveness of Restylane? Silk for areas other than the lips and perioral area have not been evaluated in clinical studies.

Tell your doctor if you have any history of scarring, particularly thick and stiff scars, or any pigmentation (skin color) disorders.These side effects can occur with hyaluronic acid fillers in general.

Tell your doctor if you are planning other laser treatments or a chemical peel, as there is a possible risk of inflammation at the treatment site if these procedures are performed after treatment

Patients who experience skin injury near the site of injection with these products may be at a higher risk for side effects

Tell your doctor if you are on any medications to decrease your body’s immune response (immunosuppressive therapy). Using these medications may increase your risk of bruising or bleeding at the gel injection site.

Tell your doctor if you are using any “blood thinners” such as aspirin, warfarin, or any other medications that affect bleeding. Using these medications may increase your risk of bruising or bleeding at the gel injection site.

The use of these products on gel injection sites with skin sores, pimples, rashes, hives, cysts, or infections should be postponed until healing is complete. Use of product in these areas could delay healing or make your skin problems worse.

Tell your doctor if you have diseases, injuries, or disabilities of the hand.

What are the possible side effects?

The most commonly observed side effects are swelling, redness, pain, bruising, headache, tenderness, lump formation, itching at the injection site, and impaired hand function. These are typically mild in severity and typically resolve in less than 7 days in nasolabial folds and less than 14 days in lips. Serious but rare side effects include delayed onset infections, recurrence of herpetic eruptions, and superficial necrosis at the injection site.

One of the risks with using this product is unintentional injection into a blood vessel. The chances of this happening are very small, but if it does happen, the complications can be serious, and may be permanent. These complications, which have been reported for facial injections, can include vision abnormalities, blindness, stroke, temporary scabs, or permanent scarring of the skin.

As with all skin injection procedures, there is a risk of infection.

To report a side effect with any of the Restylane products, please call Galderma Laboratories, L.P. at 1-855-425-8722.

The Restylane family of products is available only through a licensed practitioner. Complete Instructions for Use are available at www.RestylaneUSA.com.

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